Refrigerator door structure

ABSTRACT

The construction and structure of a refrigerator door are disclosed. The door includes a central panel that is surrounded and held by a unique frame. The door frame is basically made of two sections, an outer metallic section and an inner rigid plastic section, the inner rigid plastic section being manufactured of a low thermal conductance material and being snap fitted to the outer section whereby the central panel is held between portions of the outer and inner door frame sections. The door structure presents a complete thermal break across the access opening of the refrigerated compartment of a refrigerator on which it is mounted.

United States Patent [72] Inventors Herman L. Buftington;

Robert M. Stribling, both of Spartanburg, S.C. [21] Appl. No. 40,204[22] Filed May 25, 1970 [45] Patented Jan. 4, 1972 [73] AssigneeBeverage Air Company Spartanburg, S.C.

[54] REFRIGERATOR DOOR STRUCTURE 6 Claims, 8 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl I 49/402, 49/487, 49/489, 49/501 [51] Int. Cl E0541 7/00[50] Field of Search 49/50l, 504, 70, 478, 402; 52/476, 731

[56] References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 3,418,755 12/1968 Di Chiaro49/501 3,411,247 11/1968 Fleming 49/501 3,353,321 11/1967 Heilwellet al.49/478 X 3,353,301 1i/1967 Heiiweil et al. 52/731 X PrimaryExaminer-Kenneth Downey Att0meyWellington M. Manning, Jr.

ABSTRACT: The construction and structure of a refrigerator door aredisclosed. The door includes a central panel that is surrounded and heldby a unique frame. The door frame is basically made of two sections, anouter metallic section and an inner rigid plastic section, the innerrigid plastic section being manufactured of a low thermal conductancematerial and being snap fitted to the outer section whereby the centralpanel is held between portions of the outer and inner door framesections. The door structure presents a complete thermal break acrossthe access opening of the refrigerated compartment of a refrigerator onwhich it is mounted.

PATENTED JAN 41972 SHEET 1 [1F 2 I.\\\\\\\\\\- INVENTOR S H ERMAN L. BUFFINGTON PATENTEU JAN 41972 SHEET 2 [IF 2 INVENTORS HERMAN L.BUFFINGTON 0 ER M. S IBLING ya g2 I r u t t g REFRIGERATOR DOORSTRUCTURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION As has occurred in otherindustries, the refrigerator door in- .dustry has undergone atechnological revolution. Attempts have been continuously made toimprove refrigerator doors from both structural and aestheticstandpoints. The large increase of convenience type grocery stores,supermarkets and the like has brought about the need for large numbersof walkin coolers where a series of refrigerator doors are positionedadjacent each other, extending almost across the entire front of thecooler. The shelves behind the doors are stocked from inside the walk-incooler. The customer may thus walk along the cooler and visually inspectthe merchandise through insulated glass doors and select the desiredgoods. Likewise, upright coolers and freezers much smaller in size aregreatly in demand where similar type doors are mounted for swingingaround a vertical pivot for horizontal sliding to provide access to thegoods displayed therein.

In manufacturing these refrigerator doors as well as refrigerator doorsthat are built with a solid central panel that is not transparent, it isimportant that the outside of the door he considered from an aestheticstandpoint so as to provide equipment that will blend with the housingof the cooler as well as the interior decor of the store in which it islocated. Simultaneously therewith, due to the fact that these doors aregenerally not provided with latching means other than a sealing gasketand a pretensioned spring closing arrangement, it is necessary toprovide a thermal break between the refrigerated interior of theequipment and ambient temperature within the store. The doors arefrequently opened and without provision for proper insulating qualities,the refrigeration efficiency of the unit is adversely effected.

Many of the refrigerator doors similar to the instant refrigerator doorare sold as separate units which are installed or attached to the cooleron location, after the cooler has been erected or installed.Accordingly, a prerequisite of the refrigerator door of the type asdescribed herein is that it must be constructed in such a manner towithstand the riggers of separate transportation and installation. Afurther point worthy of discussion concerning the construction of doorsis the ability to level the door. Historically, it has been necessary tofirst level the cooler or unit to which the door is attached andthereafter, to level the doors individually. This leveling feature, asone can well imagine, can become very time consuming which, of course,increases the cost of installation.

Refrigerator doors of the type as are described herein and mentionedearlier are exposed to much use and abuse. Accordingly, the doors aredamaged periodically to the point where they must be removed andrepaired or replaced. It is therefore a consideration in theconstruction of refrigerator doors that they be conveniently removableand easily maintained so as to further add to the versatility of thecooler system.

The refrigerator door as described herein overcomes all of theaforementioned problems and takes into consideration all of theaforementioned advantageous features. Hence, the present refrigeratordoor is truly an advance in the art as may be readily seen from theensuing description and statements.

The prior art does contain art pertinent to the type refrigerator doorthat is the subject matter of the present invention. Exemplary of thisprior art are patents to Beamer, 2,798,262; Glynn, 3,098,698; Di Chiaro,3,177,989; Monti, 3,242,537; Carson, 3,335,524; Fleming, 3,41 L247; andMock, 3,426,482. It may be readily seen from a review of these listedpatents that attempts have been made to design refrigerator doors havingthe necessary features to overcome the problems set forth above. ltshould be pointed out, however, that none of the previously listedpatents, either alone or in combination anticipate or suggest a doorstructure such as is described herein.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is toprovide a novel refrigerator door, inside of which provides a completeand continuous thermal break to the refrigerated inside of a housing onwhich it is mounted.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a thermallyinsulated refrigerator door that may be easily assembled anddisassembled.

Still further, another object of the present invention is to provide anovel refrigerator door that is sufficiently rigid to be level wheninstalled while being easily assembled, disassembled and repaired.

Generally speaking, the present invention relates to a thermallyinsulated door construction comprising a thermally insulated panel, aframe surrounding and holding said panel, said frame comprising a rigidouter member, said outer member being adapted for exposure to ambienttemperature, a rigid thermal break strip snap fitted to said outermember, said panel being held between said outer member and said innerstrip around the periphery thereof and said panel and said inner stripcombining to provide a thermal break or barrier across the entire insidesurface of said door.

More specifically, the door of the present invention comprises an outermetallic member that adds to the aesthetic value of the overall unit towhich is snap fitted a rigid plastic strip that assists in holding theinsulated panel and provides a complete thermal barrier across the innersurface of the door frame. An insulated glass panel, metal panel or thelike is sandwiched between the outer section and inner section of thedoor frame so as to be held thereby. The thermal break strip ispreferably manufactured of a rigid vinyl composition that is extrudedinto the proper shape. The rigidity of the thermal break is such thatafter being installed, the thermal break strip itself applies a positivepressure to the inside of the central panel so as to urge the panelagainst the outer section of the frame whereby the panel is securelyheld in place.

Further specifics concerning the door of the present invention involvethe assembly of the door. In many instances, doors of a type similar tothe instant door utilize a plurality of separate sections to form thedoor frame. Certain of these doors utilize snap-on sections, but in eachcase the doors have proven unsatisfactory, The majority of these doors,however, employ some type of fastening means, such as screws, to holdthe separate parts together Should fastening means be required forholding the individual members together, the fastening means aregenerally metal screws. The use of such fastening means presentsproblems in at least two areas, namely the ease of assembly, disassemblyand repair of the door and the thermal insulating qualities of the door.Obviously, if fastening members are required in the manufacture of theparticular door, then a plurality of the fastening members would appeararound the periphery of the door frame. In each of these case, aconductive path is provided which if allowed to exist permits theformation of condensation on the door. Such condensation drips onto thefloor and necessitates clean up in addition to a decrease inrefrigeration efficiency. Additionally, when fastening members arerequired to produce a door of sufficient rigidity to be commerciallyacceptable there is first a great deal of excess labor expended in themanufacture of the individual doors, thus increasing the cost of thedoors. Secondly, as mentioned earlier, due to the large use of the doorsand the large amount of glass in the doors, it is not uncommon for thedoors to need repair. When, for instance, a glass pane is broken, thenthe door must be disassembled, a new glass panel inserted to replace thedefective panel and the door reassembled. If 20 screws are employed tomaintain the integrity of the door frame, then each of these screws mustfirst be removed, and after the new panel has been inserted, must againbe replaced into the door frame so as to provide a structurally sounddoor. The presence of fastening members thus either in the initialmanufacture or in the repair of the door adds appreciably to the cost ofthe doors and/or to the cost of maintenance of the doors as well asincreasing the power requirements for the store operator in maintainingthe proper refrigeration conditions for the unit.

To facilitate a better understanding of the present invention, thefollowing figures are presented to illustrate the fea tures of thepresent invention and modifications thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of arefrigerator unit having the doors of the present invention mountedthereon.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of a door according to theteachings of the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows a cross section of a portion of a door frame according tothe present invention taken along a line IIIIII.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a length of the rigid inner thermalbreak strip according to the teachings of the present invention.

FIG. 4/-\ is a cross-sectional view of the outer member of the doorframe according to the teachings of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross section of a portion of two doors according to thepresent invention, mounted for side by side horizontal sliding movementand showing modifications to the sections of the door frame.

FIG. 6 is a cross section of a portion of a modified outer section of adoor frame according to the teachings of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a cross section of a portion of a modified rigid inner thermalbreak strip of a door frame according to the teachings of the presentinvention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS Referring to the FIGURES, thepresent invention will now be described in detail as to specificembodiments thereof. FIG. I shows a refrigerated cooler unit generallyindicated as 10 having sidewalls 12, top wall 14 and front 16. Thoughnot shown, cooler unit 10 would have a plurality of shelves mountedtherein to receive items that are to be refrigerated during display.Access to the inside of the unit 10 may be had through one of two doorsgenerally indicated as that are mounted in the front 16 of cooler 10.Doors 20 are mounted to cooler 10 on mounting plates and are notprovided with a peripheral frame around the door area. Doors 20 aremounted on a vertical axis through mounting plates 30 and pivot aroundthe axis during opening and closing.

While the doors of the present invention are shown in FIG. I in anupright display cooler unit 10, the doors of the present invention mayalso be manufactured in such a manner that they may be utilized invarious other environments. FOr instance, a plurality of doors 20 may bemounted adjacent each other to provide doors for the front of a walk-incooler. For the walk-in cooler environment, the doors would be hung inmuch the same manner as is shown in FIG. 1. Also, however, as will bedescribed in more detail hereinafter, the doors of the present inventionmay be constructed so as to be employed as horizontal sliding doors, forrefrigerator units. The present invention, however, is directed to thestructure of the door, per se, and the manner or utilization of the dooris not a part of this invention except insofar as modificationsnecessary to adapt the door for the particular environment. Utilizationof the present door structure as well as other doors is covered in ourcopending application filed concurrently herewith and identified as Ser.No. 40,087, entitled Sliding Door Construction, and Ser. No. 40,203,entitled Door Hinge Construction.

Refrigerator door 20 is comprised of a central panel 22, a door frame24, a suitable handle 26 and optionally automatic closing meanspositioned inside of door frame 24 and not shown.

Door panel 22 as shown in FIG. 1 is a thermally insulated glass panelcomprised of two or more panes of glass having a sealed cavitytherebetween. The present invention, however, does not restrict panel 22to being a glass panel. instead, any

material of construction may be used as desired to form panel 22 suchas, for example, various metals, transparent or translucent plastics, orthe like.

Door frame 24 is truly an important feature of the present invention andgenerally comprises, as may best be seen in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, a pair ofhorizontal elongated elements and a pair of vertical elongated elementsjoined together, each of the elements including an outer section 40 towhich is snap fitted an inner thermal break strip 50. Outer section 40of door frame 24 generally comprises a modified U-shaped member having along first leg 42, a base 44 and a short angular positioned short leg46. Long leg 42 of outer member 40 comprises the portion of the doorframe 24 that is exposed to the ambient temperature and the exteriorsurface thereof may be designed or decorated as desired to enhance theaesthetic appearance of the overall refrigerator unit. The forward end42 of leg 42 provides a planar surface for holding one side panel 22.Short leg 46 of outer member 40 angles inwardly from base 44 towards leg42 and extends upwardly from base 44 only a portion of the length of leg42. Leg 46 of outer member 40 provides a surface to which inner strip 50is attached for securement thereto.

Insofar as thermal insulation of door 20 is concerned, outer member 40of door frame 24 has no effect on the thermal insulation qualities ofthe door. Accordingly, outer member 40 may be constructed of any desiredmaterial so long as the material is sufiiciently rigid to maintain panel22 in a proper relationship and to permit inner strip 50 to be snapfitted thereto. Preferred materials of construction are, however,stainless steel or aluminum.

Strip 50 of door frame 24 is a rigid plastic structure having a poorthermal conductive property that may be snap fitted to outer member 40so as to provide a rigid door frame 24. Inner strip 50, as may be bestseen in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, is an extruded member comprising a body 51 onwhich various protuberances and shapes are found. At one end of body 51is a shoulder 52 extending transversely therefrom. Shoulder 52 contactsouter member 40 at the junction of base 44 and short leg 46 and alongleg 46 to assist in securing strip 50 to member 40 to provide door frame24. Body 51 further has a barbed protrusion 53 extending inwardlytherefrom in the same direction as shoulder 52 Protrusion S3 terminatesas a pointed barb 54 having 5 shoulder 55 associated therewith. Adjacentprotrusion 53, body 51 thickens at 56, the purpose of which will bediscussed in detail hereinafter. The end of body 51 opposite shoulder 52is shaped as a "U" with an inner leg 58 providing a planar surface 58for engagement of panel 22.

As shown in FIG. 4, member 50 is preferably slightly curved. Hence whensnapped onto outer member 40, with a panel 22 therebetween, member 50straightens out due to the presence of panel 22. Memory of the curvatureremains, however, and positive pressure is continuously applied againstpanel 22 to hold same in place between member 40 and strip 50.

Door 20in the environment presented in FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4 is adaptedfor swinging movement around a vertical pivot. As such, door 20 will beequipped with a sealing gasket 60 to completely seal between the door 20and the housing of the refrigerator unit. Sealing gasket 60 is attachedto rigid inner strip 50 as will be hereinafter discussed and comprises aflexi ble member that is designed to assume the contour of the. housingagainst which it comes to rest. As may be seen in FIG. 3, sealing gasket60 is secured to strip 50 so as to be offset from and out of contactwith panel 22. In this manner, when door 20 closes, the force of closingis not directed to panel 22, but is absorbed mainly by strip 50. Theconstruction of sealing gasket 60 is not, per se, a part of the presentinvention, but any suitable sealing gasket may be employed.

Rigid inner strip 50, as illustrated in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 is adapted toreceive a sealing gasket 60. Thick portion 56 of body 51 of strip 50 hasa slot 59 extending axially therealong. Slot 59 has a pair of raisedlips 59' that extend partially thereacross to decrease the efiectivesize to the opening into slot 59. Sealing gasket 60 as illustratedherein is a flexible vinyl member having a flat terminal end 61 thatmakes sealing contact with the refrigerator housing. A flexibleaccordion section 62 is located behind end 61 and flexes to insureproper sealing engagement. The rear end of sealing gasket 60 comprises abarb 64 that is received within slot 59 of rigid inner strip 50 and heldtherein by lips 59'. The base 64 of barb 64 extends outwardly andterminates at shoulders 65. When sealing gasket 60 is attached to rigidinner member 50, barb 64 is received within slot 59 and shoulders 65engage outer surface of lips 59 to insure proper connection betweensealing gasket 60 and rigid inner member 50.

Construction of door 20 proceeds as follows. Two vertical and twohorizontal outer members 40 are mitered at their ends so as to mate withadjacent legs of frame 14. The four sections of outer member 40 are thusbrought together at their mitered ends and securely united on the insideas by welding, for example. A suitable adhesive or friction producingmaterial is then placed on the inner planar surface 42' of leg 42 ofmember 40 around the periphery of the frame and a spacer member 80 ispositioned in the U of each member 40 to properly position a panel 22that is placed within the uncompleted frame 24. Panel 22 is thusproperly centered in frame 24 by spacers 80 that appear in each sectionof frame 24 and rest on the friction producing materials 70 that are incontact with planar surfaces 42' of each member 40. Spacer members 80may be any desired material such as wood, plastic, foam, or the like.Spacers 80 do not extend the entire length of the sections of the frame24, but only extend for a sufficient length to insure that panel 22remains stationary in frame 24. AFter panel 22 is thus positioned withinframe 24, rigid inner strips 50 are snap fitted onto each outer member40 by positioning shoulder 52 at the intersection of short leg 46 andbase 44 of member 40 and thereafter forcing barb shoulder 55 ofprotrusions 53 around the terminal end of leg 46 whereby member 50becomes snap fitted to member 40. The planar surface 58 of leg 58 ofmember 50 is likewise provided with a friction producing material 70whereby panel 22 is entrapped between planar surfaces 42' of member 40and 58 of member 50.

FRiction producing materials 70 likewise act as sealants and mayobviously be any of a number of compounds or compositions. For instance,a two-sided adhesive tape may be applied so as to adhesively engage boththe contact planar surfaces of the frame and the adjacent surfaces ofthe panel whereby the panel is precluded from movement and a seal isproduced between panel 22 and member 40 and panel 22 and strip 50.Likewise, an adhesive composition could be applied to panel 22 and/orthe planar surfaces 42 and 58 of the respective members 40 and 50. Forthe sake of simplicity, however, the two-sided adhesive tape ispreferred. Additionally, the friction producing substance or sealant 70,when an adhesive or an adhesive tape, may extend partially along leg 42beyond the end of panel 22 so as to secure spacer 80 in the properlocation in frame 24.

Once rigid inner strips 50 are snapped onto outer members 40 of frame24, the door structure is complete unless sealing gaskets 60 arerequired. It should be pointed out, however, that in the construction ofthe instant door, no screws or separate fastening means have beenemployed. Moreover, the instant door is of a very rigid construction andsince no extraneous fastening members are required, may be madecompletely square whereby, once installed, it is necessary only to levelthe refrigerator unit to achieve a level attitude of the doors. Thisleveling is normally done by threaded members under the cabinet or inthe context of a walk-in cooler, by adjustment of the panels that areused to make up the cooler.

housing, per se. Moreover, once the door is completed and installed in arefrigerated cooler, a complete and continuous thermal barrier extendsacross the inner surface of the door with no conductive path throughwhich heat may be introduced to the refrigerated compartment of thecooler.

As discussed earlier, The doors of the present invention may be utilizedwith different types of refrigerated units. Accordingly, the presentdoors may be likewise easily utilized in an environment where the doorsare installed for horizontal sliding movement to provide access to therefrigerated interior of the cooler. Means for mounting the doors of thepresent invention are not relevant hereto and accordingly are not shown.When the doors are utilized in a horizontal sliding environment,however, to retain the characteristic of a complete thermal break,modifications should be made to the door structure. Accordingly, crosssections of opposite ends of two adjacent doors mounted for horizontalsliding movement are shown in FIG. 5. Modifications necessary to achievethe complete thermal break are thus illustrated in FIG. 5. Sincebasically the elements of the door structure are the same for any typeenvironment attention will be directed mainly to the modifications andlike sections of the door structure of those in the prior figures willbe identified with a 100 prefix.

FIG. 5 illustrates a first door 120 operatively associated in ahorizontal sliding environment with a second door 120'. Door 120comprises a panel 122 being held in position by a door frame 124 that iscomprised of an outer member 140 and a rigid inner strip 150. Likewise,door 120' comprises a panel 122' and door frame 124' comprising members140' and 150. A trackway T is shown to exist below doors 120 and 120'and the doors may be supported thereby or may be suspended from rollers,not shown.

Due to the fact that the doors 120 and 120 must move parallel to eachother, a certain amount of clearance necessarily exists between the twoto permit the lateral movement. Such clearance would normally provide apath for entry of hot air into the refrigerated compartment of thecooler unit. Additionally, a door of the structure as described withrelation to FIGS. 1 through 4 would expose the base 44 of the outermember 40 to the refrigerated interior, thus creating a thermal leaksince member 40 is thermally conductive. To provide a complete thermalbarrier for the doors per se in a horizontal sliding environment, it istherefore necessary to modify the door structure to block thermalpassage throughairspace 200 or outer member 140'.

Modification of base 144' of member 140' of one door and inner strip 150at the opposite end of the adjacent door will correct the above noteddeficiencies. Base 144' of member 140 thus may be adapted so as to havea slot 145 located therein, said slot having lips 145" at the entrancethereof so as to partially enclose slot 145. A thermal barrier strip160' is then attached to base 144' of member 140. Thermal barrier strip160 is constructed of a material having a low thermal conductance, suchas for example a rigid vinyl. Strip 160 has depending therefrom aprotrusion 162' terminating as a barb 164' with shoulders 166'. Barbedprotrusion 162 is thus inserted between lips 145 of slot 145' where,once within slot 145, shoulders 166' engage lips 145" to preventwithdrawal of barb 164'. Thermal barrier strip 160' is thus securelyfastened to base 144' of outer member 140'. The size of strip 160 issuch that it extends across base 144 of outer member 140 to the innerthermal break strip 150' of the same door and at an opposite end to theinner thermal break strip member 150 of the adjacent door 120. Allexposed thermal conducting areas on this end of door 120' are thuscovered.

The opposite end of airspace 200 located between doors 120 and 120 isalso closed to further complete the thermal barrier for horizontalsliding doors. Whereas, outer member of door 120' is exposed to airspace200, for door 120, it is the inner member on the opposite end of thedoor that is exposed. ACcordingly, member 150, the rigid extrudedthermal barrier is modified. On the modified member 150 as is seen inFIGS. 5 and 7, at shoulder 152, there is a protrusion 159 from the body157 in the opposite direction of shoulder 152. Protrusion 159 thuscoacts with shoulder 152 to form a tee on the end of body 1 51 of member150. PRotrusion 159 angles outwardly towards the adjacent door 120, andterminates at an angular end 159'. End 159 of protrusion 159 makessliding contact with panel 122' of door 120' so as to continuously closeairspace 200.

Having now described the invention it will become apparent to thoseskilled in the art that variations and modifications may be made heretowithout departing from the spirit of invention. Accordingly, the scopeof the present invention should be governed by the claims appendedhereto.

What is claimed is:

l. A door construction for cabinets and the like having surroundingwalls for defining a container, one of said walls having an openingtherein for providing access to said container, said door having a panelcorresponding in shape to said opening for providing a closure for saidcontainer, the improvement comprising: a frame surrounding the holdingsaid panel, said frame including elongated elements joined together,each of said elements including; a rigid U-shaped outer member, one legof said U-shaped outer member being shorter than the other leg and beingangled inwardly toward said other leg, said other leg overlapping oneside of said panel with a base portion of said U-shaped member beingparallel to the edge of said panel; an inner thermal break strip carriedon an opposite side of said panel from said outer member; said innerthermal break strip having a main body portion, a shoulder portionadjacent one end of said main body portion in engagement with the baseportion of said U-shaped member, and a barb spaced from said shoulderportion protruding inwardly from said main body portion engaging theinner end of said short leg of said U-shaped outer member, a planarsurface carried adjacent the other end of said main body portion; saidU-shaped outer member having a planar surface carried by said main bodyportion; said panel being held between said planar surfaces whereby saidouter member and said thermal break strip are held together with saidpanel therebetween by the engagement between said shoulder portion andsaid barb.

2. The door construction as defined in claim 1 wherein a frictionproducing substance is interposed between said panel and said planarsurface of said outer member and said panel and said planar surface ofsaid inner thermal break strip.

3. The door construction as defined in claim 1 further comprising aspacer in said frame to limit lateral movement of said panel.

4. The door construction as defined in claim 1 wherein said rigidthermal break strip has a slot extending axially therealong and furthercomprising a sealing gasket, said sealing gasket being associated withsaid inner strip at said slot so as to be removably joined thereto.

5. The door construction as defined in claim 4 wherein the sealinggasket has a barb depending downwardly therefrom, said barb being pressfit into said slot in said inner member so as to be held thereby.

6. A door construction as defined in claim 1 wherein said rigid thermalbreak strip is originally slightly concave in shape, whereby whensnapped onto said outer member, the panel between said outer member andsaid strip causes said strip to straighten, whereby internal stresses insaid strip continuously apply positive pressure against panel so as tohold said panel in the proper position.

l 1! I I 1R

1. A door construction for cabinets and the like having surroundingwalls for defining a container, one of said walls having an openingtherein for providing access to said container, said door having a panelcorresponding in shape to said opening for providing a closure for saidcontainer, the improvement comprising: a frame surrounding and holdingsaid panel, said frame including elongated elements joined together,each of said elements including; a rigid U-shaped outer member, one legof said U-shaped outer member being shorter than the other leg and beingangled inwardly toward said other leg, said other leg overlapping oneside of said panel with a base portion of said Ushaped member beingparallel to the edge of said panel; an inner thermal break strip carriedon an opposite side of said panel from said outer member; said innerthermal break strip having a main body portion, a shoulder portionadJacent one end of said main body portion in engagement with the baseportion of said Ushaped member, and a barb spaced from said shoulderportion protruding inwardly from said main body portion engaging theinner end of said short leg of said U-shaped outer member, a planarsurface carried adjacent the other end of said main body portion; saidU-shaped outer member having a planar surface carried by said main bodyportion; said panel being held between said planar surfaces whereby saidouter member and said thermal break strip are held together with saidpanel therebetween by the engagement between said shoulder portion andsaid barb.
 2. The door construction as defined in claim 1 wherein afriction producing substance is interposed between said panel and saidplanar surface of said outer member and said panel and said planarsurface of said inner thermal break strip.
 3. The door construction asdefined in claim 1 further comprising a spacer in said frame to limitlateral movement of said panel.
 4. The door construction as defined inclaim 1 wherein said rigid thermal break strip has a slot extendingaxially therealong and further comprising a sealing gasket, said sealinggasket being associated with said inner strip at said slot so as to beremovably joined thereto.
 5. The door construction as defined in claim 4wherein the sealing gasket has a barb depending downwardly therefrom,said barb being press fit into said slot in said inner member so as tobe held thereby.
 6. A door construction as defined in claim 1 whereinsaid rigid thermal break strip is originally slightly concave in shape,whereby when snapped onto said outer member, the panel between saidouter member and said strip causes said strip to straighten, wherebyinternal stresses in said strip continuously apply positive pressureagainst panel so as to hold said panel in the proper position.